As we go through life we often think about why we're here, what the meaning of life is. In these photos, photographer Rodney Smith shows us a man who's in search of these answers, a man who's life's quest is to find himself. Shot in black and white, the curious man travels far and wide, only to find that the real answers lie within him.

"I learned how to step back, so that the model became a figure rather than a portrait. He becomes part of the story, reciting lines with me, rather than at me. It is a story with him as a character, a personage, rather than a novel about him. "Also particularly with the men, the story or anecdote became whimsical and humorous. It was a way to make the images as compelling (or for me even more compelling) than my earlier work, yet it is completely different. It was my way of dealing with the cards that were provided, and finding a hand that was stronger than the one I was originally dealt." - Rodney Smith